tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-872511076454850581.post6802286039008279854..comments2023-07-16T04:49:49.838-07:00Comments on Great stories: Do you believe it?Paula Westonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15257475233897059248noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-872511076454850581.post-65863168986980202532008-07-17T16:56:00.000-07:002008-07-17T16:56:00.000-07:00Believability is one thing, but what about authent...Believability is one thing, but what about authenticity?<BR/><BR/>It's authenticity that gives a story credibility. Believability is, to me anyway, only one aspect of authenticity.the ink-stained toe-pokerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08223704916998468741noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-872511076454850581.post-5155173984696813922008-07-15T18:07:00.000-07:002008-07-15T18:07:00.000-07:00My view is that a work of art is a holistic piece ...My view is that a work of art is a holistic piece whether it is a play, a novel or a painting.<BR/><BR/>There are so many factors that go into the believability, or willingness to believe an art work, but in the end Spence is right.<BR/><BR/>A great work takes us somewhere special because we allow the artist to take us there. <BR/><BR/>They build up their credibility or believability even before we get on their bus for the trip. They can also lose us on that journey.<BR/><BR/>"Brothers Kasmarov" by Dostoyevski was a bus ride I wanted to get off about a third of the way. I just lost interest in the whole thing, partly believability, partly I just didn't care anymore.<BR/><BR/>Anyhow a great story does take us somewhere and the author needs to gain the trust and interest of the reader and keep them there. <BR/><BR/>Believability is one of the key factors in my view.Gustavhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14007035018960992565noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-872511076454850581.post-12541402405853081632008-07-09T15:27:00.000-07:002008-07-09T15:27:00.000-07:00I don't think being just interesting is enough...y...I don't think being just interesting is enough...you have to be able to enter the world of the story, rather than just being a detached spectator. And it is - to an extent - the believability that allows us to do this. Otherwise it's like reading an interesting text book rather than a novel. When you're 'involved' in a story you will stay up late at night reading just 'one more page' to find out what happens next. No matter how interesting a text book is, it rarely gets this sort of a grip on a reader (or maybe that's just me!)<BR/><BR/>I can see what Jennifer is saying, in that it is often more the 'out of character' stuff that makes something unbelievable than the 'out there' stuff. You don't read a Sci-Fi novel and start thinking "*snort* aliens and ray guns...yeah right!"<BR/><BR/>That said, I think I have a fairly high tolerance for believability. I'm gullible. I tend to believe most things. In fact, the subject of this post, and your mention of Lewis Carroll at the start, put me in mind of my favourite quote (which I like as a 'philosophy' really):<BR/><BR/>“There is no use trying, said Alice; one can’t believe impossible things.”<BR/><BR/>“I dare say you haven’t had much practice,” said the Queen. “When I was your age, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” <BR/><BR/>- Lewis CarrollBechttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13723810605485842824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-872511076454850581.post-89740123980884449832008-07-09T02:28:00.000-07:002008-07-09T02:28:00.000-07:00I think being interesting helps, but it takes more...I think being interesting helps, but it takes more than that to make a story believable. An out-of-character decision can be interesting and still be frustratingly implausible.<BR/><BR/>I was watching Night at the Museum tonight and was annoyed by the implausibility of Larry "brushing up" on a massive amount of history in just a day or two. Museum displays coming to life because of an ancient tablet - no problem. :-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com